Deception
by Kex3
Summary: Yuugi was sure Kaiba had turned over a new leaf. For the better. But after an incident that leaves the gang wondering if he's changed at all, Kaiba is found unconscious after working on a mysterious new Virtual Reality project. It's up to Yuugi and friends to save the real Kaiba from his mind, and discover what's truly been holding him captive for years.And is Kaiba worth rescuing?
1. Out For Fun--Win an Enemy

A/N: Hey guys! I wanted to set up another Yu-Gi-Oh! Story, since I've been throwing out Doctor Who stuff. But I wanted to bring this up because I saw one of my old favorite AMV's, (animated music video), and got inspired again for this story. I hope you guys like it.

Chapter One

_Out for Fun—Win an Enemy_

(Yuugi's POV)

Not having to save the world for once was nice. These chances to wind down and relax didn't come by often, and we always took the chance to make the best of it. But Yami is never settled. His spirit always remains restless, and it always fills me with a foreboding that told me something even more terrible would unfold soon.

Me and my friends were walking to Domino High School. It was late November and there were already predictions of heavy snowfall this upcoming weekend—just three days away. Jonouchi Katsuya, we called him Jou, was busy talking with Hiroto Honda about buying more video games in case of a black out. Anzu Mazaki, my long-time crush and best childhood friend, was texting her Mother about shopping as well. I just stood idly by, smiling and commenting gently on their conversations. I wasn't much for talking. I much preferred sitting in the background, watching everyone else do their thing. Unfortunately, my life demanded so much more than that.

"_What's on your mind?_" Yami, the 3,000 year old spirit living inside my millennium puzzle, asked into my mind.

"_You should know,_" I replied mentally. "_You practically live in there._"

"_I practice maintaining boundaries. I'd never look without asking._" He replied simply, coolly. I held back a sigh.

"_Fine then. Every time we get a break from saving and protecting the world, something even more evil and crazy shows up to attack us. I'm just concerned about what it will be._"

"_That's assuming something _does _show up._"

"_You do realize we're still trying to find your secret name? That's going to get some attention from unwanted areas._"

"_True._"

"Yuugi!" I snapped out of my mental state and looked up to see we'd arrived at Domino High. Anzu was speaking to me.

"Yeah? Sorry, what?" I asked, my eyes wide. Oh forget it, my eyes were always wide. Some of the girls at school had commented that I have 'panda eyes'. I pushed that to the back of my mind when I felt Yami chuckling. I had to be careful with what I accidentally let him see publically.

"I was just asking you about the test today. I meant to call and ask about it yesterday," Anzu said.

"Oh, right. I studied, don't worry about me," I said with a bright smile. Anzu smiled back and Jou nudged Honda in the ribs. Before my face could turn red, I rushed inside, closely followed by my friends.

"So do you think 'ol money bags will show up?" Jou asked with a sharp tone.

"Nah, I heard all the big companies are busy with the Christmas rush. I'd expect he's nowhere near school."

"Think again, dork." I smiled kindly when I looked up to see the towering frame of Seto Kaiba, CEO and President of Kaiba Corporation. Which was amazing, considering his young age of 18.

"What'd you call me?" Honda asked, immediately taking offense.

"You take that bag rich boy!" Jou said, backing up his friend. Kaiba just looked at them coldly while I sighed inwardly.

I couldn't understand why my friends couldn't see it. Kaiba wasn't a normal person, which much was obvious. It was pretty clear to me he wasn't one for friends, so he wasn't going to talk to people like they were close to him. Instead he could just go about saying what he'd usually say. The only difference with us was that he would stay with us for longer than most others, and the usual malice in his voice was hardly existent anymore when he spoke to us. The only thing that didn't change was his vocabulary and expression.

"Lay off, mutt. I was just answering his stupid question," Kaiba glowered.

"Oh," Anzu said calmly. When it came to understanding situations, she was usually on the same page as me. It was an amazing blessing.

"Then what are you doing here? I heard Kaiba Corp. was busy this time of year."

"It is," Kaiba replied coolly, his laser sharp blue eyes focusing on her. "But there are only so many days I can miss here before they are legally allowed to suspend me. I've nearly used them all, so I'm using them sparingly."

"Sounds like a tight schedule," I said pleasantly, trying to keep him in a good mood. And present.

"It is. So stop wasting my time." And that was the kindest farewell we'd be getting.

With that, Kaiba walked past us and off to our classroom.

"Why that jerk…! Why's he always so _rude_?" Jou huffed as he slung his bag over his shoulder.

"Somebody should teach that guy some manners," Honda agreed.

"I think you two need some manners," Anzu pointed out. "You two don't help his behavior at all."

"But he starts it!" Jou complained.

I just rolled my eyes at the usual bickering and took my seat by the window. Anzu sat behind me, Jou and Honda sat near the door. We were pretty spread out, but we were a bit early. So we almost had the classroom to ourselves.

My eyes caught Kaiba reaching into his briefcase and pulling out his laptop. It immediately clicked in my mind that he would be working from school. I sort of felt bad for him, but that was his choice to make. I had talked with Mokuba recently, and the kid was keeping Kaiba on a tight leash of coming home on time. I chuckled at the thought. Kaiba taking orders from his brother.

"_I doubt that's how he sees it._" Yami thought mildly.

"_Where you peeking into my mind?" _I complained.

"_No. You weren't exactly keeping those thoughts private." _Yami replied with a mental smile.

I shook my head as the classroom filled.

"_Anyway, we're still on break from saving the world. How should we take advantage of the break?_" I asked him. I wasn't remotely interested in what we did. But I wanted to give Yami a chance to make his own decision. There was only so much he could do as a spirit. I was thinking I'd let him take over for a while and take the break himself. I just wanted a break from taking a break. Ironic, I mused.

"_Isn't a skating rink opening tonight?_" Yami asked.

"_Oh yeah. Grandpa said a lot of the kids at the shop were talking about it. Are you interested?_" I asked.

"_I don't know. I've never skated before._" Yami replied.

"_Well then, I guess we'll go skating then._" I said with a smile. I opened my notebook and wrote down the idea before passing it back to Anzu. She smiled and wrote a checkmark. She walked across the room to Jou and Honda, they wrote something down and she brought it back to me.

"_Yep, definitely going ice skating._" I said to Yami.

**~((~^*^~))~**

A few hours later I was pulling on a warm jacket, a scarf, and warm gloves. I looked myself over in the mirror. I could see Yami's reflection. He was always visible to me. His arms were crossed and he was observing my clothing choices.

"_It can't possibly be that cold outside_," The spirit said mildly.

"Well, actually, it is." I said aloud. Grandpa knew about Yami, so hearing me talk aloud without an audible response was normal to his ears.

"_And you expect me to take this break instead of you._" Yami said to clarify.

"Yep, I'd just like a few peaceful hours to myself. In my own mind. Well, my side of our mind." I replied, remembering the time I saw my mind split into two halves, one side for Yami, and one side for me. Mine looked like a child's playroom. But I liked toys and puzzles. It sounded perfect to me.

"_Alright, but only because you want this._" Yami replied, still looking uncomfortable about the arrangement. I eyed him for a few moments. His mind was unreadable to me. I'd seen it myself. His mind was a literal labyrinth. There was no way I could ever understand his thought processes, the way he saw things or understood them. Once I nearly convinced myself it was because he liked Anzu. But sometimes he'd react in a way that said otherwise. He was too private, but I wouldn't complain. There was no real reason to.

My cell phone rang, so I picked it off the desk and flipped it open.

"Hey Anzu, you ready?" I asked into the receiver, walking over to my window to look outside.

"Yep! I've got Jou and Honda with me. But I actually had a question."

"Yeah? What do you need?" I asked, opening the curtains. I could see my friends outside waiting. A light snow had already begun to fall. A preview for the oncoming weekend storm.

"Well, Mokuba called. He said Kaiba's working late tonight and if he could hang out with us tonight. He said it would be lonely otherwise."

"Sure! Tell him we'll be right over to pick him up." I said with a smile.

"Got it. We're waiting outside!"

"Coming down."

I hung up the phone and placed it in my pocket.

"_I heard_," Yami said before I could open my mouth.

"Great. Are you alright with that?" I asked honestly. He nodded.

"_Of course,_" He replied. "_Mokuba is a good kid._" I nodded in agreement.

"Alright, let's do this."

It's an interesting process, going from total control of your body to the background of your own mind. I lost all control of my limbs, any bodily functions I usually commanded at will. There's something interesting about our change, though. I can still feel everything he feels. As Yami touches the doorknob to turn it, I can feel the metal on my fingertips. It's like a dream. You can feel everything, but you have no control over anything you do.

Yami hurried down the steps and I watched through his eyes as he said a brief farewell to Grandpa. Then we were outside, and I felt Yami's surprise that yes, it really was that cold out.

"Yuu—Yami," Anzu said in surprise. Jou and Honda blinked, but smiled anyway.

"Cool! You and Yuugi plan this?" Jou asked, ever so positive. I knew he was always excited about the idea of two Yuugi's. It was so different and unusual. Jou liked unusual. That always made me wonder why he hated Kaiba so much.

Anzu was smiling gently, cautiously. She was always like that whenever Yami came out. Now that I thought about it, Yami acted similarly. They were always so careful about everything. But I always over-think things when I have the back row.

Honda drove us to the Kaiba Estate. It was an enormous mansion. I got shivers whenever I saw the enormous Blue Eyes White Dragon statues, glaring down at us like they were the real thing. Anzu and Yami climbed out and walked up to the front doors. She rang the doorbell and they remained silent until Mokuba opened the doors.

"Hey guys! I'm sorry if I'm imposing or anything," Mokuba said, brushing his long black bangs out of his grey eyes. He was perfectly dressed for ice skating, with a thick jacket, scarf, and hat. He looked up at us and we smiled.

"Not at all," Anzu chirped.

"Are you ready?" Yami asked, his much lower voice than mine echoing into the mansion behind Mokuba. I wondered if it was empty in there. Why else would it echo?

"Yep!"

Anzu and Yami led him to the minivan and we jumped inside. Yami closed the door behind us and we were off.

The new Ice Rink really was everything it was cracked up to be. I was amused, watching Jou and Honda try to balance each other and figure out how to skate properly. Anzu was perfection on ice. She twirled around like the dancer she was, skating backwards, forwards, spinning slowly every once in a while. Yami clutched the rail as tightly as he could, carefully working his way forward to try and join her.

I wondered if this is what it was like for him. Always watching from the background, seeing and understanding, but having no part in it. Was this what he experienced for 3,000 years?

Anzu eventually stopped teasing the spirit and came over to take his arms. She pulled him forward and away from the railing. He stumbled but didn't fall. I could feel Anzu's hands, tight and firm, refusing to let go. She continued to laugh at Yami's expense, but I could feel his spirit glowing. He was happy, and that made me happy.

I spotted Mokuba out of the corner of my eye. He was pretty good at skating. He was better than all of us, but in my mind, not as good as Anzu the Ice Princess. He skated over to us and tried to help Anzu give Yami pointers. He was open to the idea of there being two Yuugi's. I think he liked it about as much as Jou did. Something fairy-tale and unreal about it. Everything Kaiba hated.

We skated for about two hours. By that time, Yami had caught the hang of it, and was working his way slowly around the rink, over and over. Anzu skated effortlessly beside him, sometimes giving him pointers, but mostly praising him for how good he was doing. Jou and Honda were still a mess on the floor. Mokuba had left Anzu and Yami to make fun of them, something his big brother would have been proud of.

Suddenly, Mokuba pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and looked at it. He'd received a call, or text. The young boy skated over to the wall and opened up the door to get off the ice. He sat on a bench and started fiddling with the phone.

"_Yami, what's up?_" I asked. Yami had noticed as well.

"_I don't know. Let's find out_." Yami carefully maneuvered over to the wall, Anzu close behind him in case he fell over again.

But we made it to the edge alright and Yami leaned against the railing.

"What's wrong?" He asked Mokuba, who looked up from the phone's light. Mokuba frowned.

"Seto said he'd be busy till ten or eleven tonight. But apparently, he texted me an hour ago that he was getting off earlier than he expected. I'm supposed to reply to his texts within ten minutes or else he'll get worried…"

"And this text was an hour old?" Anzu asked, the worry striking her eyes. Mokuba nodded.

"He's going to be _ticked_!" Mokuba hissed, quickly typing a return text.

"What's up?" Jou said, crashing in behind Honda, who was climbing through the doorway for a break.

"Kaiba sent Mokuba a text an hour ago. Mokuba was supposed to send a text back within ten minutes, and he didn't." Anzu explained carefully.

"Well, what's the worst he can do? Talk our ears off? Challenge us to a duel?" Jou joked. Mokuba looked up, ready to patronize him, when a shadow fell across the group. We looked up to see a very, _very _angry Kaiba. I'd only seen him so furious once. In the virtual world, when Mokuba was taken in front of all of us. His continued anger was directed at us whenever we tried to help. But back then, he'd seemed more in control. Right now, he looked ready to knock off any one of our heads.

"You'll be _lucky _if I let you off with _that much_." Kaiba hissed, poison lacing his voice. I felt Yami's body tense, his knuckles tightening on the railing.

"Seto, I'm sorry. I was having fun and didn't notice the text." Mokuba quickly said, jumping in to the rescue. Kaiba's eyes snapped to his younger brother. I shivered. His eyes were dark, deadly. Completely unattached to the reality of the situation. His mind was somewhere else, somewhere untouchable.

"We are leaving right now," Kaiba said coldly, his voice low and menacing. I felt a pang in my chest. Mokuba was doomed to a rough night.

"Hey, don't punish him for this," Jou said. I cursed in my mind, and I felt Yami agree to it. Jou had the worst timing, but this was ridiculous.

"Then what do you suggest? That I punish you?" Kaiba growled, grabbing Jou's jacket by the collar and pulling him up so his toes were only just touching the ground. By now we'd gained an audience. I couldn't believe Kaiba would let himself go like this, in public. He was usually so reserved, trying his ultimate best to never let anyone know his true feelings. And I was really, _really _glad for that whenever he acted like a homicidal maniac. Like now.

"Kaiba, calm down, this isn't the way to handle the situation."

"Back off Motou," Kaiba glared, dropping Jou suddenly to push Yami away. He lost his balance and nearly fell, but grabbed the railing just in time. By the time Yami pulled himself back up, Kaiba had grabbed Mokuba around the waist, picked him up, and was hauling him away.

"What the heck just happened?" Jou exclaimed, also picking himself off the ground and rubbing his backside.

"I have no idea," Anzu replied. I stared after him.

"I don't think I've ever seen him so… violent." Honda muttered.

"_What do you think?" _I asked Yami mentally. "_Most of my understanding on him comes from you._"

"_I… honestly have no idea._" Yami replied mentally. "_I'm sure we'll find out what happened tomorrow._"

**~((~^*^~))~**

(Mokuba's POV)

He put me in the backseat, climbed into the front seat, and sped off onto the highway.

"What the heck?!" I exclaimed loudly. "We were just having some fun! I really did just miss the text; I wasn't in trouble or anything!" Seto's jaw tightened and he ignored my words. He simply swerved into the next lane and went through a red light.

I glared death at him and looked next to me. His briefcase. Fine, if he wanted to be mysterious, then I would go through all his stuff.

I opened it silently and looked through everything. Files, files, files… stupid files. Sometimes I underestimated how boring Seto's job was. But he couldn't be upset about his job. This kind of behavior went deeper than that. I spotted his dark black phone and picked it up. I looked at the rearview mirror. I could just make out his eyes, focusing on the road like it was life and death. Our deaths, if he'd stop being so reckless.

I turned on his phone. It had a password. I thought for a moment. I had to be smart. It would be more than just 'Mokie' or 'BlueEyes' or something sentimental. It would be something no one else would know. I smirked. Something only _we _would know. I typed in the password and it blinked, "Welcome, Seto Kaiba." I scrolled through all his most recent calls and messages.

Nothing important. I flipped back to an hour earlier. _Dang, _I thought to myself. _How many texts can a person get in one hour?! _I finally found the text he sent me. Stamped at seven o' clock exactly. So whatever happened ten minutes later would have been when he went crazy.

My biggest concern was that if I hadn't texted in ten minutes, Seto wouldn't have panicked. Not really. He knew I was a kid and missed things sometimes. So he would have given me more time to notice. Maybe even send me another text five to ten minutes later.

And that's when I saw it. Something that definitely would have sent him into a tail spin. A picture of me, at the ice rink, with Jou and Honda. It was from a blocked number. I looked up at Seto. Still focused, angry. But now that I'd seen the text, I could trace the smallest bit of concern leaking through his angry front.

Typical. I turned off the phone and placed it in the briefcase. I couldn't let him know what I'd seen. Otherwise, he'd change the password, and then I'd get a lecture for going through his things. Seto was sensitive about that kind of stuff. So, I'd just have to figure this all out on my own.

**~((~^*^~))~**

A/N: Well, that's that! I hope you like it, and please review to let me know what you think. I literally LIVE off your reviews. I seriously need to know what you think. Otherwise, I get bored and stop caring. So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review! Love you guys! 3 I'll update soon, I promise.


	2. Unusual--A Call For Concern

A/N: Hey guys! Thank you for the WONDERFUL reviews, they mean the world to me! They really do. :D So, I'm sorry, but I forgot to mention anything about pairings. Everything is 'implied'. So here are the 'pairings'. YuugixAnzu, YamixAnzu, implied JouxMai, implied JouxShizuka, and strongly implied SetoxKisara later on. Just wanted to tell you now so you don't have any reason to stone me later. Please enjoy Chapter 2!

**~((~^*^~))~**

_Unusual, a Call for Concern_

(Seto's POV)

There are very few times in my life where I can sit, be still, and feel absolutely nothing. My mental boundaries so strong not a single thought is allowed passage through my mind, my heart locked so tightly it would hurt to even try and unlock it again. And this all happens in a matter of seconds as I sit at the kitchen table of my… home? No. Home is where the heart is, and this is not where my heart lies.

My hands rested in my hair as I leaned forward against the table, my arms a barrier between me and the world. Mokuba would normally be asleep at this time, but after yesterday, I knew he would get up early to talk my ear off. Last night was a nightmare. I hadn't seen it coming. I _never _see it coming, and I should have.

The night before had been busy. Mokuba was upset with me because I'd been coming home later than usual. And by later, I mean three to five hours. Once or twice I didn't come home at all. Workaholic; I don't shy away from the heavy title. But last night, after hearing him complain once again how lonely he would be without my presence, I swore to myself to work overtime, to get done as quickly as possible and get home to him again. I'm not heartless, even though everyone seems to prove otherwise.

I came home early, just like I planned. I took off my jacket and called for him but all the lights were off. I found it strange. It was then that I remembered the text I'd sent an hour earlier, while I was rushing between a pressing meeting and a new project that needed a release deadline for immediately. Since my mind was in other places, I never got around to checking for a return text. But I didn't think much about worrying. Mokuba always sent a return message. He was always on top of things like that. Curse routine, it makes your mind dull.

When I checked my phone, there was no return text. I was about to text him again, when I received a message from a blocked number. I read it. There was a grainy photo of Mokuba, with… _Yuugi_, of all people, with his friends at the ice rink Mokuba had told me about. There was no message, but I caught the hint. I tracked his phone's GPS. Mokuba was still there.

I ran outside to my car, ready to go pick him up before _anything _could happen. That was when I got the call.

"Who the hell is this?" I growled when I saw the blocked number.

"An interested party," Was the stupid response. "Did you get our text?"

"I think your camera is crap and you kept your distance. Good job, I just might spare you." The automated voice on the other end laughed dryly.

"You've always been funny, _Kaiba_. But that photo was taken two hours ago, an hour before you texted him." My grip on the steering wheel tightened as I turned on the vehicle and sped out onto the freeway.

"So, you're an 'interested party'," I said calmly, locking my emotions to the back of my mind like I always did. After so many years, this ability became an _art_. "What are you interested in?"

"You, of course. Have you even tried calling your brother? To see if he's alright?"

"He can take care of himself. I'm merely concerned that you've underestimated him."

"Yes, quite right. He is a Kaiba, after all." Under any other circumstance, I would have smirked, maybe even smiled. But if my new enemy dared say it, that meant he had a counter-measure. And dare I say it, that idea scared me.

"I just wanted to talk to you. It's been an honor, Mr. Kaiba." My phone suddenly sparked in my hand and I threw it into the backseat. I didn't have time to check to see if it was alright. I was already halfway to the ice rink.

And after that was history. I breathed in deeply, calmly. I counted each second that went with each breath. A trick I learned when I was a kid. Heck, I was still a kid in some people's eyes. In my own, I felt like an old man. Seen too much, understood too much… felt too much, even.

So I locked it away and went into a frozen state. I hadn't moved in at least an hour, just sitting at the table and breathing to remain alive. God, I loved these moments… Everything so perfectly still and… just perfect, no matter how I looked at it.

That's when the still was disrupted by the heavy pounding of a child's footsteps. Mokuba crashed into the kitchen. I reacted by moving out of my frozen state and looking at him stonily. I still didn't understand everything that had happened. All I understood was that I would be advancing Mokuba's security for today. Just today, and I'd have everything sorted. I promised myself.

"You're up early," I said finally, tired of his staring. Mokuba stood at the other end of the table, gripping the chair tightly. It was clear he'd been thinking about something. 3 guesses at what that would be, I mused silently.

"I need to talk to you." Mokuba said seriously, and without stopping continued, "I think your actions were completely unjustified. No matter how you felt you didn't have to push Yuugi and Jou around like that. It wasn't like you! Now I want you to explain in detail what's going on." I stared at him. I hadn't expected a statement like that. He'd rehearsed it, planned it. _He's just like you_, a voice in my head whispered. I mentally shook myself clear of those thoughts and focused on a clear response.

"I don't have to explain myself to you," I said calmly and too quickly for my own liking. "It's probably nothing worth worrying over."

"I think I have plenty to worry about! And just because I'm a bit too young to understand certain things doesn't mean you can't tell me what's going on! I'm your little brother; I think I deserve to be told the truth!" Mokuba exclaimed.

"It's because you're my little brother that I won't tell you," I said, a slight growl escaping my throat. Mokuba's jaw tightened, as did his grip on the chair.

"Then tell me what you're _going_ to do. That can't possible be such a big secret," He said in low tone, the only tone he used when he was thoroughly angry with me. I ignored it completely.

"Nothing. You'll go to school like it's any other day, and I'll stop by school before heading to work. I have to meet with the new Media Manager on the release date for the Virtual Reality Simulator." I said, standing and grabbing my coat. Mokuba glared at me.

"Somehow I doubt that's all you'll do," He said, his eyes flashing angrily.

"Then I must be doing something right." I replied coldly. With that, I stepped out of the room and headed for the garage. And true to Mokuba's word, before I even picked out my car for the day, I flipped open my cell and called Roland.

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba," Roland said.

"I want you to grab two of your best agents and watch Mokuba today. No one touches him, understood?"

"Of course. On it immediately."

I hung up and spotted my favorite Starch-white Lamborghini and climbed into the driver's seat. I started to relax when I sank slightly into the leather seats. I didn't like the way I spoke to Mokuba. But at the moment, my tone was not among my top concerns.

I looked at my cell's call history. The blocked number stared at me in the face. _Your options are limited. What can you even do? _That voice entered my mind again. My jaw set as I shoved the keys into the ignition. No, I was Seto Kaiba. I could do anything I set my mind to. It was the way I was wired. I almost smiled emptily, thinking about the way I worded that. Wired. More like re-wired.

With that in mind, I focused on the day ahead and sped off to school.

**~((~^*^~))~**

(Yuugi's POV)

The next day was a nightmare. At least it was for me. Jou and Honda were normal, except for their constant bashing of Kaiba. It was worse than ever. Before, their reasons to dislike him had no grounding. Everything they used to dislike about him was nearly non-existent. But now, after last night, it was like a flood gate opened, and they took that as their allowance to say whatever they wanted about him.

Anzu wouldn't back me up when I tried to defend him. She didn't say why, but I already knew why. She was a deeply emotional person, and she cared about all of us so much she'd do whatever it took to protect us. I could even think of a few times she had before. But after Kaiba was physically aggressive with us, suddenly she wasn't as willing to protect him anymore; even though she did believe the best about him most of the time.

Yami was brooding. I knew I could still count on him. But he was still trying to figure things out himself. Yami once told me that he was certain he'd known Kaiba in another life. So I could understand his frustration that he couldn't remember his past, let alone fully understand Kaiba's actions.

"It revolves around Mokuba, I'm certain," Yami said. "Something happened, and it involves Mokuba." I nodded.

"That would explain a lot," I agreed. "But it feels… deeper than that. Like there's something else tying in. I just can't figure out what."

"It wouldn't hurt to just ask him," Yami reasoned.

"Look, Yami, I believe the best about Kaiba, but I _really _doubt he's going to just sit down and tell us the truth, or tell us anything at all for that matter." I felt Yami smirk in my mind.

"You never know until you try."

I shrugged on my backpack and headed off to school.

Yami's words did leave me something to think about.

So I walked to school with my friends, just like always, and tried to ignore Jou and Honda's hateful comments about Kaiba. Anzu was unnaturally silent until we got to school, when she was finally able to change to subject to school topics.

When we made it into class, the first thing I noticed was Kaiba's absence. He was usually the first one here, so it was strange to see his seat empty. I walked over to one of the popular brainiacs, who showed up around the same time as the CEO. His name was… Yotoko, I believe.

"Hey, have you seen Kaiba?" I asked him nicely. Yotoko pushed up his glasses in thought.

"Uh, yes. I saw him near the Principle's office, talking with the secretary. It looked important."

"Thanks," I said with a smile.

"I'll be right back, guys," I said. Jou eyed me.

"Where you headed? The bathroom?" He asked.

"I'm going to look for Kaiba."

"Like heck you're going alone!" Jou immediately jumped up, followed by Honda. "I wanna give that guy a piece of my mind!" He agreed. I groaned.

"Not like that Jou. I just want to make sure he's alright."

"Okay, you can make sure he's 'alright' once I'm through with him!" I shook my head.

"_Let them be,_" Yami's voice whispered in my mind. "_You can't change their minds._"

"_I'm not worried about what they'll do to Kaiba, I'm worried about what he'll do to them if they attack him._" I replied seriously. To this, Yami went silent.

"Look, I don't want you to hurt him!" I said, not voicing my concern that they would actually be completely overpowered in a fight with Kaiba. He was way bigger than them, and stronger by the looks of last night. But I didn't want to make Jou any more aggravated than he already was.

The two taller boys looked at each other, exchanging a silent conversation. Yuugi started to have a flashback of when he first met them, when they were just bullies always harassing him. They'd outgrown it, but when it came to each other's safety, the boundaries they'd made for themselves often became blurry. And it usually took Yuugi to point it out again.

"Fine. But I swear, if he makes any sort of move that seems suspicious, I'm not taking a chance." Jou finally grumbled, Honda nodding in affirmation. I smiled weakly and looked to Anzu.

"I'll wait here," She said calmly, but I could see her eyes were pleading. She was still working through her emotions. She didn't want to see Kaiba just yet. And I could respect that.

"Okay, thanks." I told her. She smiled and we left the classroom in search of Kaiba.

Thanks to Yotoko, it didn't take long to find him. He was sitting in the secretary's office, behind a desk in the corner.

"Kaiba, what are you doing?" Honda asked in surprise. I stared. He had an enormous stack of school work in front of him, and he was breezing through all of it at lightning speed.

"What does it look like?" Kaiba grunted, shoving three papers off into the second stack that was quickly growing. I turned to the secretary for an explanation.

"Mr. Kaiba is working ahead and completing all of today's and tomorrow's schoolwork. He's hoping to take a leave of absence without taking any more 'absent' days." She quickly explained, nodding to the large stack of papers that was quickly shrinking as Kaiba skimmed through it.

"Dang Kaiba, I know you're 'smart' but that's just _insane_," Jou exclaimed, watching Kaiba's quick and calculated movements with awe. I stared as well.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked him. "Does this have something to do with last night?" Kaiba immediately halted in his effort just long enough to glare death at me.

"_That_," he almost seethed, "is not your concern." He quickly returned to his work and I felt Jou bristle beside me.

"He was just asking you a question, rich boy."

"I didn't ask for your opinion, mutt." My arm moved slightly to the side, blocking Jou's clear path to the CEO. I looked up at my friend, hoping he could control himself for just a bit longer.

"Look, we just want to help. Is there anything we can do?" I asked calmly, keeping a respective distance between us and him. Kaiba's hand slowed and he… did he sigh? He looked up at us with cold, tired eyes and said simply, "You can leave." Recognizing his need for silence to work, I quickly ushered Jou and Honda out of the room with me closely following them.

"The nerve of that guy…!" Jou muttered when we were back out in the hallway. Honda looked through the door's glass window, watching Kaiba work.

"What's up with him? He usually doesn't do random weird stuff like this," Honda said thoughtfully.

"_Just yesterday he was telling us that he'd used up too many absent days, so he was using them sparingly. What would warrant this?_" Yami finally spoke into my mind. I nodded.

"_This is very strange. We need to get to the bottom of this. We could call Mokuba?_" I suddenly thought.

"_I'm still not entirely sure of all the going's on in this timeline, but isn't he in school as well?_" Yami replied. He seemed to pick up the answer from my responding emotion. That's right. And if I called Mokuba, that would just get him into trouble. I wouldn't do that.

I didn't have to think about it too long when the door to the office suddenly opened and Kaiba stalked out. He glared at us, not expecting us to have still been standing there.

"Don't you three have class to attend?" He said coldly before sweeping past us.

"You can't possibly be done _already_?!" Honda exclaimed, looking back at the window and seeing a neat, single stack left on the desk top.

"So what if I am? Get out of my way, I'm leaving."

"Kaiba, seriously, we just want to help. What's going on? I'm sure we could do something," I said, now that his attention was solely focused on me.

"What's going on, is I have a lot of work to do, and you are the only person standing in my way to getting there. So heed my words carefully, and _get-out-of-the-way_." I quickly moved out of his way.

"Dangit Kaiba!" Jou suddenly jumped forward. Kaiba halted and turned to glare at him.

"What's wrong with you? If you're not gonna' give us straight answers for your actions last night, then I'm going to duel you for it!" I expected Kaiba to scoff, accept the challenge, and then go on to attack Jou in every verbal way possible. So you can imagine my confusion when the obviously ticked off Seto Kaiba frowned deeply, and said nothing for several long moments. His eyes were dark, and he seemed to be thinking very deeply on something.

"I don't have time for this." He said eventually. He then turned, and began to walk away.

"What? Are you telling me you won't duel me?" Jou shouted, earning looks from passing students. This situation wasn't entirely unusual, so most of them kept walking. Very few stopped to watch.

"I'm telling you I'm busy, and I don't have time for you or your pathetic attempts to play a card game. Take a rain check, mutt. You should know by now that a dog like you can't possibly defeat someone like _me_."

That, combined with all the tension that occurred within the last twelve hours, Jou finally lost it.

"You _JERK_!" He swung his fist. Kaiba easily dodged and in a split second, I felt my heart stop when I saw the look in his eyes. Wide, hard, angry, and on the verge of chaos; a look I'd seen the day Yami shattered his mind, oh so long ago. But it was there, and it appeared to be very much alive.

Kaiba raised his arm and slammed his elbow into the joint that combined Jou's neck to his shoulder and back. Jou made a strangled sound as he hit the ground, reaching back to feel where the blow had fallen. Kaiba stared down at Jou's form, his eyes narrow and cold, calculating his next move. Jou glared up at Kaiba, and just about lunged up to strangle him, but Kaiba's leg moved faster. The next thing anyone knew, Jou had been slammed into the lockers. Kaiba stood still, just watching and staring at his own handiwork.

Jou forced himself to sit upright, wiping some blood off his chin as he caught his breath.

"Kaiba." I had hardly noticed when Yami took over my body. I didn't realize I'd been focusing so hard until I heard his voice instead of mine.

Kaiba looked at us and simply stared. Once again, his mind was elsewhere, somewhere untouchable and impossible to ever understand. I mentally shivered.

"Please. Stop this. It's not worth it." Yami urged. Kaiba's eyes flashed, finally something normal. I could see his usual calmness, clarity of the situation. He was coming back.

"Of course it's not," He finally spoke, his voice sounding a bit dry and strained. "That's what I was trying to say." He turned to leave, and Yami quickly followed him. We caught up with him once he was already outside.

"Kaiba, you can tell me what's wrong. If you like, I won't tell the others." Yami said. I bristled, but Yami was ignoring my feelings. I told the gang everything. And he was taking the liberty of promising not to breathe a word. It might just be the thing to make Kaiba open up, but I hated the idea of hiding something from my friends.

Kaiba stopped at his car, his hand frozen on the door handle. He turned to look up at me. His eyes were unreadable again, but this time, he almost looked emotional. And that was what scared me the most.

"You would actually keep a secret from your loyal little following?" He asked, his voice incredulous. Yami nodded firmly.

"If that's what you want. You can trust me, you know that. You never would have come to our rescues all those times if you didn't believe _something _about us. I won't force you, but I do want you to know that I _can _help."

Kaiba scoffed.

"You can't help."

"I can try to understand," Yami replied. I watched in amazement. I never would have guessed that Yami could actually keep Kaiba engaged in a conversation that could lead to the stone cold CEO to open up about _anything_.

Kaiba continued to stare, before he finally opened his mouth to speak.

"If you _dare_, say a word to _anyone_ I will have your head." I felt my spirit glow in awe. Yami didn't return the emotion. His spirit felt dark and cold, old and powerful. Something was festering in his mind. I wondered if Yami was remembering something. If he was remembering the connection he used to share with Kaiba, in that other life. It still felt beyond me, but it was definitely a theory.

"There has been a threat that involves Mokuba. Last night, I received a text picture of Mokuba at the ice rink, with you, and then I received a call. I don't know what they want, and I intend to find out today." He then climbed into the car and turned it on. I stared after him as the car disappeared down the highway.

"Well, that solves one mystery," Yami said aloud, since no one was around to hear.

"But now I can't tell the others that Kaiba's just worried about his brother being threatened." I grumbled, but still felt happy with the fact Kaiba had opened up even that much.

"That part doesn't matter," Yami muttered. "What does matter, is that we can see the playing field with a new eye. Something is going on. You were right. By his reaction, this looks like something more than just Mokuba. He's acting unusual. Whatever this is, it's only just beginning."

**~((~^*^~))~**

(Seto's POV)

It was around 2 pm that I had a stroke of genius. It didn't take much for me to figure out the mind of my enemy. And this enemy was definitely the most interesting to me. After my meeting with the Media Manager, I went down to the labs and hacked my own cell phone. It took some time, but I managed to find the bug that they had used to make my phone chemically react to spark like it had the night before. It was a small virus that I'd opened with the text picture. And once I found that bug, I was able to trace it back to its source. I got the perpetrator's phone number.

I stared at the number in my hand as I thought about my next course of action. And that's when it occurred to me. I wanted to see this person. They were intriguing me.

They were power seekers. I could tell. They had sent a picture and a threatening message just to say, 'your brother is not as safe as you think he is'. It was a power play, showing me that they had some sort of leverage over me. But hah, they did _not _know Kaiba's as well as they thought.

So I sent them a text message. Bait, something they wouldn't dare leave unnoticed. I sent them a time and place, telling them I was free from 4pm to 5pm. I would be in my office, alone, and I wanted to meet this person. Whoever was leading this charade.

I sent the text and watched it in silence. This was a terrible idea. Dangerous even. Something was seriously wrong with me. And yet, I did it anyway. What did that say about my character?

_You're becoming more like him_. That voice said. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. _No. I'm. Not. _I told myself firmly. When I opened my eyes again, I forced all my emotions to the back of my mind. What's done is done. Now all that was left was to remove the threat. Permanently.

**~((~^*^~))~**

(Mokuba's POV)

Was he an idiot? I mused silently to myself all day. He was absolutely insane if he thought I wouldn't notice his security goons watching me at school. But then again, maybe he did know I'd notice, and he was trying to show how in control he was. That in his eyes, I was still a child that needed to be looked after. Didn't he know that I was smarter now? That I was far stronger than I'd been back in the days of the orphanage? I could take care of myself. Sure, I did have a history of being kidnapped, but not too long ago I proved my ability to take care of myself by escaping on my own. I loved how proud he was of me that day. But even then, he still didn't trust me.

I sat in my room, back at home after a long day of wondering what was going through my brother's head. I tossed a ball in between my hands, sometimes throwing it up into the air, watching it hit the ceiling before it fell back down to me. I couldn't understand. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get it. Was Seto trying to send me a message? Was he trying to tell me something important? If so, I wasn't seeing it. All I could see and feel was the cold bitterness between us. It had been growing there lately, this void between us. It mostly started right after Noah's virtual reality. When we were kidnapped. I never told anyone about what Seto and I saw. Watching our pasts unfold before our very eyes. But something happened that changed in Seto. It was like a part of himself that was long dead reawakened. Something I never wanted to see again. And it was growing stronger every day, putting a barrier between us.

How could I be so blind to it? I wanted to believe that he was fine, that nothing was wrong. But the truth was anything but. Something was wrong with him. I had to confront him before it could become any worse.

I checked my cell phone. It was 5:30. It was around five that Seto usually called to tell me if he'd be home late, or if he'd be home at all. So far, I had no missed calls. I wondered if he was trying to ignore me after our argument that morning. Fine, I'd take the initiative.

I called his number and listened to it ring for several long moments. And then I was surprised when I got his voicemail. "_Kaiba. Leave a message_." I rolled my eyes at his condescending tone. I remembered when he made the voice mail. It hadn't been a good day. I laughed at the rage he'd been in after the material's manager had somehow 'lost' 1/3 of the new replacement parts for a new Duel Disk design. I was amused, but Seto was furious. So all in all, it was a crazy night.

I called his number again, certain he'd pick up this time. I listened to it ring. 3… 4…. 5…. "_Kaiba. Leave a message._" My jaw tightened as I set the phone down in my lap, pondering what this meant. It wasn't right. Seto was highly sensitive about his phone. If he even _thought _it vibrated in his pocket he'd rip it out and look it over. So a phone call? With a ring tone? And he didn't pick up? If he was in a meeting, it would have gone straight to voice mail. So why wasn't he available?

I sent a quick text, "_You okay?_" I waited for a response and counted to ten. The usual amount of time it took for him to reply. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Finally, there was no other alternative. I called his secretary.

"Kaiba's office," a chirpy, semi-annoying voice greeted me. I couldn't remember her name. Seto kept firing them too often for me to even keep track anymore.

"It's Mokuba. I need to talk to Seto."

"I'm sorry Mokuba; Mr. Kaiba stepped out at around 4 pm. He hasn't come back yet."

"Oh. Where was he going? Was he with anyone?"

"I believe he was going down to Lab 1, in the basement. He was on his phone when he left, but other than that he was by himself. I don't know anything more about that."

"Thank you. I'll see you later."

"Sure thing, toots."

I hung up and immediately dialed Roland's number.

"Mokuba, is something wrong?" Roland said, his tone worried. I pinched the bridge of my nose, ignoring how that was so Seto like.

"I don't know. But I need a ride to Kaiba Corp. Seto isn't picking up his phone and I'm getting worried."

"Of course. I'll bring the car around immediately."

I pulled on my coat and ran downstairs where Roland was waiting with the limo. I climbed in the back and counted every second until we arrived.

Jumping out of the car, I ran through the front doors and stepped into the elevator. Roland waved over two of the security guards to join me. I pressed the button that led to the basement. When the doors opened, I walked down the hallways until I saw the door marked "Lab One". I tested the doorknob. It was unlocked. I pushed it open and stared.

The lights were all on, and the room was completely empty. One of the rolling lab tables was pressed against the cabinets for whatever reason, and another table had fallen on its side. Tools lay all over the ground.

I leaned down and examined something I remembered Seto telling me, was a 'Microspatula'. It was basically used for transferring small amounts of solids from one spot to the next. It was sharp looking, but was really quite dull. And it was covered in something dark and wet.

"Roland, what is this?" I asked, picking it up and showing it to him. I stared at my fingers. They were red now.

"That's… blood."

I dropped it and listened to it clatter to the ground.

I immediately ripped out my cell phone and called Seto's number. I put it to my ear and listened to it ring. I walked around the room, examining the damage. Something terrible had happened here.

And that's when I heard it. The ringtone Seto had for my calls. It was a light, upbeat tone that I told him I liked. I never thought he'd actually use it. I froze and stared. It was coming from around the corner. No one was answering it. I looked over my shoulder at Roland and security. They seemed to sense what this could mean. I swallowed, hard, and forced one foot in front of the other.

I could hear nothing but my own breathing and the ringtone. The weight of the tension was pressing against my eardrums painfully. I took a deep breath, and forced myself to go around the bend.

I dropped my cell phone.

Seto lay on the floor. His jacket was missing; his clothes were torn in various areas and wrinkled elsewhere. His hair was wild and covered half his face. His lips were parted like he was going to say something. In his limp, pale hand laid his cell phone, which rang into the empty air. I looked at the caller ID. It read _Mokuba._

**~((~^*^~))~**

A/N: Aaannnyway, I'm leaving it there for now! Sorry for the cliffhanger, but the next chapter is going to take some time, and I wanted to update sooner rather than later. I really hope you liked the chapter, and please review and let me know what you think! I seriously love to hear your thoughts, and I'm dying to know how you feel about this. Otherwise, I feel like you guys don't care and the story's not worth it. :'( So, PLEASE REVIEW.


	3. Reality and Truth

A/N: Hey guys! Here's the next installment of "Deception". Things are about to get complicated. I hope you guys like the chapter, and I'm sorry if it's a little bit hard to follow, or if anything seems off to you. But after this chapter, things are going to get SERIOUS. I hope you guys like it. :)

**~((~^*^~))~**

_Reality and Truth_

(Mokuba's POV)

I stared at Seto's face and tried to wrap my mind around what had happened. Seto hated hospitals. I don't know why, but he really, _really _does. The EMT's looked him over when they arrived at Kaiba Corp. They said physically, there was nothing wrong with him. There was a room at home, at the Kaiba Estate, which held all the medical equipment they'd ever need. So they brought him home. Our on-call Doctor, Mr. Watashi, looked him over with two other doctors and they couldn't figure it out.

That's when they found the small hole in his arm. Either Seto or someone else injected something into my brother with a needle. And whatever it was had caused my brother to go comatose. That was the theory, anyway.

Hours later, Watashi came back to me and told me the terrible truth. I never would have guessed that something like this could happen to him. And I couldn't believe what Watashi suggested. The only thing that could bring my brother back.

My brother, Seto Kaiba, was dying. And there was only one thing we could do to stop it.

**~((~^*^~))~**

(Yuugi's POV)

I was hanging out at home. School had ended and everyone had come back to the Kame Game Shop to hang out. Jou and Honda sat in front of the TV, playing some new war video game that just came out. Anzu was in the kitchen with Grandpa, making snacks for everyone. I sat on the sofa, double checking my homework and considering one of the more difficult problems.

As I circled a different answer, I felt my cell phone buzz in my pocket. I pulled it out and looked at the caller ID. It was Mokuba.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked, erasing the old answer on the page.

"Yuugi. Something's happened." My eyes narrowed.

"_Something's wrong_," I said to Yami.

"_He sounds too calm. Robotic._" Yami agreed.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Have you seen the news?" Mokuba asked evenly.

I quickly grabbed the remote to the TV and switched it to the news.

"What channel?"

"It doesn't matter.

Jou and Honda immediately shouted protest when their video game ended.

"Yuug'! What are you doing?!" Jou exclaimed, looking at me in shock. But I was busy staring at the TV screen.

"_…and they are not releasing the events of what has caused this, but Seto Kaiba has indeed been escorted from Kaiba Corporation in an ambulance. Witnesses say he was unconscious and unresponsive to treatment when the EMT's arrived. No news yet on his condition…"_

We stared at the TV. Anzu had entered the room shortly after hearing Jou's outburst.

"He's back home," Mokuba said. "It's not good. How soon can you get here?"

"Leaving right now," I replied as I stood. "What happened?"

"We don't know. Please hurry."

Mokuba hung up and I grabbed my coat.

"Yuugi, what's going on?" Anzu asked me worriedly. Yami was being strangely silent as I buttoned up my jacket.

"I don't know. Mokuba called. He wants us to go over to the Kaiba Estate." Jou's eyes narrowed, but he nodded. No matter how angry and upset he was with Kaiba, he wasn't the type of person to just ignore someone in trouble.

"Sure. Let's go."

It didn't take much time to arrive, but I was so nervous I felt like it we'd taken far too long. We climbed out of Anzu's car and walked up to the front doors. I rang the buzzer and Mokuba opened the door only seconds later.

"Thanks for coming."

I immediately noticed his eyes looked a little red.

"_He's been crying_." Yami noted. I felt a pang in my chest.

"How's Kaiba." Jou asked before I could react. Mokuba shook his head and ushered us in.

"The Doctors… uh… There's not much we can do." Mokuba said, dodging the question. He led us upstairs and I looked at our surroundings. It didn't seem as empty as I thought it'd be. Everything was properly furnished, and held a very simple, but contemporary look. Everything screamed symmetry and reflection. Nothing seemed out of place. It was like a professional designer had come in to do all the work. But knowing Kaiba, that's probably what happened.

We stopped in front of a large oak wood door. Mokuba turned to look at us and played with his hands.

"So… Earlier I tried calling Seto to see when he'd be coming home. He didn't answer. I decided to go check up on him, and I found him in one of the basement labs," Mokuba began to explain. We listened intently.

"The lab was messed up, and Seto was lying on the floor, unconscious. He'd been injected with something, and I think it was by someone else. We brought him back here—"

"Why?" Jou finally interrupted. I was wondering how long he'd be able to contain his thoughts. "Wouldn't it be better to take him to a hospital or something?" Mokuba looked down.

"No. Seto hates hospitals. A lot. He'd never forgive me. Besides, he set up an entire room with all the equipment necessary if something were to happen. He preferred to be as close to me as possible… he's like that…"

"I noticed," Jou replied bluntly. Anzu cast him a dark look before turning back to Mokuba.

"So then, what's wrong with him? What was injected into him?" Anzu asked. Mokuba shrugged.

"I don't know. It's kind of weird. But… It's shutting him down. The Doctor's said… they said…" Mokuba chocked on a sob and wiped his nose. He'd lost his composure.

"Is he going to be alright?" I asked. Mokuba shook his head.

"They said he's gonna'… die."

….

It would be easiest to say that it took a while to wrap our minds around that one. Anzu took Mokuba aside and comforted him while Jou, Honda, and I went into Kaiba's room. I didn't know what I was expecting to see. I'd only seen Kaiba unconscious once before. But that was a long time ago. This time, it was completely different. He was paler than usual. His entire body seemed to be shaking ever so slightly, and sweat glistened on his forehead and neck. It looked like he was having a nightmare. His face ever so often would contort into something that looked like pain.

No wonder Mokuba was taking this so terribly. This, plus the Doctor's verdict… This was bad. Very, very bad.

"_There has to be something we can do_," Yami murmured. I could feel his emotions pulsing darkly in my mind. He was perturbed by this. I could feel it.

I turned to one of the Doctors, looking over what seemed to be Kaiba's chart.

"Why are we here? Is there something we can do to help?" I asked carefully, trying to ignore the sight just beside me.

"There is, actually." The Doctor replied, taking off his glasses and placing them in his coat pocket. "I'm just surprised Mokuba hasn't filled you in yet."

It was then that Anzu and a more composed Mokuba entered the room.

"Tell us what?" Anzu asked him gently. He shoved his hands in his pockets.

"You know how Seto was crazy for his Virtual Reality Simulator? That thing that lets you go into this controlled fantasy world where you can go on adventures and stuff?" He asked, dumbing it down perfectly. We nodded.

"Well, whatever this thing is that's got my brother, it's slowly eating away at his mind. It's throwing everything into chaos, and basically destroying him from the inside out. That's all we can really tell. But there's a layer in his mind that's still stable and controlled enough for access."

"What are you trying to say?" Jou said. I tensed as I started to realize what they were asking. Mokuba wiped his nose on his sleeve but didn't answer. The Doctor sighed heavily.

"Basically, we could use his simulator to send a team inside his mind, and reactivate it. His mind is still in a partially controlled state, making it safe just enough for someone to go inside, find his core self, and force it to wake up. This could alert him enough to the situation and force his mind to stabilize. We'd be able to treat him, even save him."

Jou and Honda exchanged a look, and I looked to Anzu for some kind of help. That was definitely the last thing I was expecting to hear.

"But why are you telling us this? Surely there are more… qualified people to do something like that. Isn't it dangerous?" Anzu asked. Danger wasn't a problem with us, I thought. What I could understand was the severity of what this man was saying. Going into someone's _mind_? Anything could go wrong, anything could happen and we could make things worse, not better.

"He may not look it, but I think Seto trusts you guys more than anyone else." Mokuba said, finally piping up. Jou bristled.

"Trusts us? He _attacked _us! He puts us down all the time, he's always trying to crush us and be the one on top of _everything_! And you're telling me he _trusts _usto go into his _mind_?!" Jou exclaimed. Honda nodded in agreement. It was all I could do not to nod as well. I didn't agree with everything he said, but it was a little far fetched to believe he'd trust us with something so critical.

"_He did tell us about the threat to Mokuba_," Yami finally said, breaking the silence.

"_Yeah, but that's Mokuba. This is _Kaiba _we're talking about. I really don't think he'd ever let us into his _mind. _That seems a little bit much if you ask me_." To this Yami went silent.

"That's because he doesn't _know _any better!" Mokuba cried, startling us all.

"That's all he knows how to do. Do you really think he knows how to be friendly? Do you really think that after everything you've seen him do, he even _could_? I know he respects you guys because you never give up, on anyone. You never leave anyone behind, and he believes in you for it. So of course he'd trust you to come through. And after everything we've gone through together, I thought you guys would be the most qualified to do something this extreme, because…" He took a deep breath. "Because it's the only way to save him now."

I suddenly exhaled, realizing I'd been holding my breath. I… actually hadn't fully considered that. I knew Kaiba was extremely reserved. But I thought that was the reason Kaiba had such difficulty being friendly. Not because he might not actually _know _how. That part surprised me. And when Mokuba put it like that, I knew there was only one thing I could actually do.

I walked forward and put my hand on Mokuba's shoulder.

"I'll help Kaiba." I said. "Just show me what to do."

My friends stared at me as Mokuba's face brightened and tears fell down his face.

"I'll help too," Anzu said, stepping forward as well. I smiled at her weakly. I looked back at Jou and Honda. Honda nodded.

"Me too." He said, stepping forward. Jou crossed his arms and huffed.

"It's really not fair when you put it like that." He grumbled. "I'm in."

Mokuba smiled at us and hugged me around the waist.

"_I suppose I don't have to ask if you're in_?" I asked Yami.

"_Of course not._" He replied. "_I didn't need convincing._"

"So, what do we do?" I asked.

They brought in the equipment and started hooking everything up. Mokuba walked us over to a desk by a large window. There were computers and complicated diagrams on them.

"The Doctors explained it to me," Mokuba said. "Basically, Seto's mind will act as the 'virtual reality'. You're going to go inside and find the center of his mind, the very core of his true self."

"What do you mean? Can't we just nab the first Kaiba we see? What's the difference anyway?" Jou asked. Mokuba gave him a hard stare.

"It's not like that," he replied sternly. "Look, what's the purpose of a human mind? It's the control base, what gives you the ability to breath, to move, to do _anything_. It gives you the ability to think, do things for yourself. And it stores _memories_."

"Oh, I think I understand," I said. "You mean, because there are different memories from his past, there will be different versions of himself. Past versions, but we're looking for his core self, filled with every current memory. Otherwise we might get a completely different version of him."

"Wouldn't that be an improvement," Jou muttered jokingly. Honda elbowed him in the ribs, making the blond stick his tongue out in annoyance.

"Exactly," Mokuba said tiredly. "Under any other circumstance, I'd say this would be easy. But Seto's too brilliant to just let another conscience into his mind. He'll have some form of security, something to kick you out and keep himself protected."

"And that's the danger," Anzu said affirmingly. Mokuba nodded.

"Right. But the biggest threat currently, is that you guys take too long finding him, and then there's nothing left to save. Also, if anything goes wrong, we'll be able to pull you out and everything will be fine. Also, if his conscience is able to kick you out, we'll be able to catch you. Just letting you know you'll be safe in the retrieval either way."

"So, basically, find his true self, avoid traps, and don't pick up the wrong guy," Jou said coolly.

"Yep. But, you still gotta' be careful," Mokuba said. "It's likely you'll meet a few different versions of my brother, but every single one of them is smart, and you can't trust them. If they detect _any _kind of foul play, he'll kick you out before you realize you slipped up." I nodded.

"Okay. How long do we have anyway? Is there a time limit?" I asked. Mokuba shrugged.

"Time travels faster inside a person's mind. That's one of the reasons we can form conscious decisions so quickly in response to physical situations. So, say you're in his mind for… an hour in this world. You would mentally feel like you were there for a day. I don't know how much time you'd be using inside Seto's mind. He's a bit quicker on the draw, if you know what I mean." Mokuba explained.

"Heh, I think I know _exactly_ what you mean," Jou said, subconsciously wiping at his chin.

"Good." Mokuba looked over our shoulders. "Looks like they've got everything set up. Are you ready?"

"Yeah," Anzu replied. "Mokuba, why can't you do this? Surely you would know him best." Mokuba's eyes darkened.

"It doesn't matter how well I know him. He may be closest to me, but that doesn't mean he tells me everything. I honestly have no idea what I'd see if I go in there. And if I did, Seto would immediately recognize my presence. If he even saw me this way he'd kick me out."

Mokuba looked up at me and I hesitated. His eyes looked so much older than a thirteen year old boy. Sometimes I forgot how mature he was, that he was a Kaiba. I knew that carrying such a name meant more burdens than a child should have. What did that say about the young man we were trying to save?

"There are things he would rather die than let me see." Mokuba finally finished. The main Doctor took a step towards us and waved for our attention.

"Are you guys coming?" He called.

"Alright, let's do this thing," Mokuba said, snapping out of his slight trance.

Mokuba led us over to where the doctors had set up reclining, soft chairs and we sat down in them. They set up the equipment and once it was finished, the chairs were set to lean back and Mokuba stood over me.

"I'll work on finding who's responsible for this. Just remember, you have to find the real Seto. His core self. And don't trust _anyone_."

That was the last thing I remembered before everything went dark.

**~((~^*^~))~**

A/N: A~nyways, I hope you guys liked that! The next few chapters are going to be intense. So strap yourselves in, and enjoy the ride. Please review and let me know what you think! :)


	4. An Interesting Meeting

A/N: Ho~ly crap, I did NOT expect so many reviews just a day after I posted. O.o I loved them! I swear you are all BRILLIANT. You're expanding my horizons and making me think about the future of this story with so much more clarity than I thought I could have before. I hope you like this next chapter, 'cause I did my very best just for you! Enjoy! :D

**~((~^*^~))~**

_An Interesting Meeting_

(Yuugi's POV)

It was a similar sensation to falling. But it took me several moments to realize I wasn't going anywhere, and that in fact, I had just awoken rather abruptly. My head felt like it was spinning a hundred miles an hour. I rubbed it unceremoniously and looked around. Everything was dark, but I could make out my friends, lying against a black floor. I crawled over to Anzu and shook her shoulder, forcing her to regain consciousness.

"Mm… Yuugi?" She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "So. Are we supposed to be in Kaiba's mind?"

"Just what I expected, if you ask me," Jou said, having awoken and stood. "Empty, cold."

I shivered as I realized he was right. I felt very, very cold. It was like the beginning of winter, and my usual blue blazer wasn't doing anything to help it. Honda sat up and shook his head.

"I can't say I'm disappointed. I expected a bit… more. Why's everything so dark?" He asked as we all climbed to our feet.

"It seems we have not fully been accepted into his mind, yet." A very low and familiar voice replied. We spun around and stared in shock. I wasn't expecting that.

Yami stood there. His arms were crossed, and he was looking around with a mildly intrigued look in his eyes. He was taller than me, and his skin was a few shades darker than mine. His violet eyes looked slightly crimson. He wore a black, sleeveless top that rested comfortably on his shoulders. Dark pants and white sneakers complimented the top, but the golden belt adorned with jewels and Egyptian hieroglyphics drew attention. A pure, deep red scarf settled around his shoulders, and Egyptian earrings hung from his ears.

"Yami…" Anzu murmured.

"You look… different." Jou mumbled. Yami looked at his hands and stared at the many rings on his fingers.

"Oh," He said mildly. "I should have seen this coming."

"Why do you look like… that?" Anzu asked, her voice a little higher than usual.

"I don't have a body," Yami explained. "So my image is just based off of how I perceive myself. My past as a pharaoh seems to have played a part in this, but my conscious self is more used to dressing like Yuugi. So I suppose I'm stuck somewhere in the middle."

"Oh. Well you don't look half bad," Jou said awkwardly. Yami smirked back somewhat nervously.

"You're late." We all jumped at the sudden, yet extremely familiar sound. I spun around and stared. The room was no longer dark, and it wasn't even a room. We stood in a library that stretched on forever. I saw no end in sight. We seemed to be in the center of the massive library. At least, that was my first impression, because the area we stood in was round. There was a wall standing in the center, and a fireplace was there. It wasn't lit, not helping with our chilly surroundings. There were two lounge chairs on either side of the dark fireplace. They were both leather, and looked comfortable. In one of them, sat a very tall man. His dark brown hair was neat and tidy, as usual, and his cunning sharp blue eyes stared intensely from behind narrow framed reading glasses. He wore a black suit and a sharp, bright blue tie over an equally dark black shirt. In his lap was a thick open textbook.

It was Seto Kaiba.

"W….What?" I exclaimed, rocked to the core. Kaiba looked at the expensive silver watch on his wrist and then locked his gaze on me.

"You're late," He repeated himself. "I expected you all to set yourselves into this consciousness at least two hours ago. I've calculated the time it took you to enter this mind-scape and integrate yourselves. I was off by a couple of digits… apparently." He sighed, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes.

"Wait… what does that mean?" Jou said slowly, taking a careful step forward. "That you knew we'd be coming?" Kaiba's eyes flashed at us.

"Of course I knew. It's not _easy _to accept five conscience's at once." I remembered Mokuba's words, which felt as though they were only heard seconds ago.

_"If his mind even _recognizes _that you're there, he'll kick you out before you could even realize you slipped up_." Or something along those lines.

"Does that mean you know why we're here?" I asked calmly. I was surprised that he'd caught on to us so quickly. I didn't know what I was betting on. Did I think his senses would be more dulled because he was unconscious? And on the Doctor's word—dying? Apparently, my idea was incorrect. Kaiba was very much aware of us, so what else could he be aware of.

Kaiba looked at us skeptically.

"I know who you all are," He replied, reapplying his glasses. "And I'm aware something quite… drastic, has occurred inside my mind. So, it's fairly simple to deduce my brother has called you in to 'help me' in some manner. So tell me, what are they saying out there? That I'm dying?"

"Um… Yeah." Honda replied. "Something like your mind is crumbling in on itself."

"That sounds right," Kaiba muttered. He closed the textbook in his lap and stood, walking over to one of the shelves and placing it in an empty space.

I was getting nervous. Was this the real Kaiba? Would it really be this easy?

"So, they said we just have to force you to wake up and that should force your mind to stabilize," I explained quickly. "So… How are we supposed to do that? This is… you, right?" Kaiba looked at me. He didn't give off any kind of emotion. He didn't smirk, he didn't scowl, he didn't smile. Nothing. He just stared emptily. And then, he opened his mouth and uttered one word.

"No." He turned and walked down one of the many aisles of the library and disappeared around the bend. It took a few moments to register what had happened. The only thing that broke us out of our trance, was Yami running after him.

"Kaiba!" He shouted, also rounding the bend. We chased after him and nearly ran into him the moment we stumbled around the curve.

The strange version of Kaiba was looking at more books. He eyed us as he pulled down another textbook and opened it.

"It's not that simple," He finally spoke again, looking down and skimming the pages.

"What isn't?" I asked hastily. Kaiba placed his finger on a line and looked up.

"Waking up. Those people out there may be Doctors, but they are… quite stupid, when it comes to matters such as these. Ah, here it is." Even with the lighter tone in his voice, he didn't smile as his body turned to face us.

"The events leading up to this situation," Kaiba explained when he saw our extremely confused expressions. I nodded as a cue for him to continue. Kaiba looked down over his reading glasses and quickly explained.

"As I've already told Yuugi, last night in your timeline, I received a text and threatening message that involved Mokuba's safety." I felt the stares on my back now. I _knew _that would be coming back to bite me. If Kaiba was aware of what he'd just done, he ignored it and continued.

"I sent a message back demanding a meeting with the perpetrator, and later received a message of confirmation. I waited in the basement, Lab 1, until the mystery man arrived. And he did."

"And you were attacked," Jou said, crossing his arms firmly. Kaiba blinked.

"Not physically, no. These memory banks are unable to recall a face, but there is information on a conversation held between myself and this… person. All I know is this person was a young man. However, he said something peculiar that related to you five, and I was ready to call in security, when my mind was intruded upon."

"Not by us!" Honda exclaimed. Kaiba rolled his eyes.

"Of course not. In this time line, you have all arrived exactly four hours after the first break-in. The first intrusion is what caused Seto Kaiba's mind to malfunction, and consequently, crash into itself, as you so bluntly put it earlier."

Kaiba placed the book back on the shelf and put his hands behind his back.

"Questions," He stated robotically. I looked back and around. We were shocked. What were we supposed to say? What _could _we say? Yami was the first to speak.

"You called this place 'Seto Kaiba's Mind'. And you yourself do not claim to be 'our' Kaiba. So who are you, and where can we find the real Kaiba?" I smiled slightly. Leave it to Yami to say exactly what we were all thinking and use the perfect words to express it.

The Kaiba we were looking at nodded his head in what seemed to be approval.

"I am officially designated as Memory and Information Storeholder. The Seto Kaiba you seek can be found at the very center of this universe, as he is the one that keeps everything here alive."

"And where is the center?" Anzu asked calmly, seeming to adjust to our new and awkward situation.

This time Kaiba placed his hands into the air and a virtual screen appeared out of nowhere. It flashed odd colors and words I couldn't read. Kaiba touched several areas of the screen and it changed with every touch. Finally, a map seemed to appear before our very eyes, lit up like a Christmas tree for all of us to look upon.

"You are here," Kaiba stated, still robotically. He pointed at a large expanse of the map and circled it, immediately highlighting the area. "This is the memory room. This is the domain where information can be found, cataloged, and where memory files can be stored. Just imagine a mailing room, a place where information is constantly being routed to another source." Kaiba explained and then moved the map to a different section.

"And this is the core, the truth of Seto Kaiba's reality and character. Everything that he is, was, and hopes to ever be can be found here."

"How do we get there?" I asked. Kaiba nodded and highlighted a path.

"This is the long way around," He stated evenly. "It is not the most direct route, but it is the safest." Jou narrowed his eyes.

"What do you mean? Safe?" Kaiba eyed him calmly.

"Do you really think a mind like Seto Kaiba's is a safe place to be?" He asked, absolutely no emotion showing on his face or in his sharp blue eyes. "There are natural defenses in place, and some, not so natural. There are traps everywhere, and if you hope to get there more easily, I would suggest the long way."

Yami shook his head.

"We don't have time to take the long way. Our time is limited if we're going to save Kaiba's mind. What is the shortest and most direct path to the 'core'?" Yami asked. Kaiba touched the map and a new route was highlighted.

"This is the most dangerous path," He said. "It's a path through memories and literal emotions. You would have to pass through a multitude of doors and survive every trap in place."

"What did you mean, literal emotions?" Anzu asked. Kaiba eyed her carefully and I shivered. Traps, that was no big deal to us. And any door can be opened if handled properly. But the 'emotion' phrase caught me by surprise. I was interested as well.

"Some emotions were too strong for a single memory to withstand. The emotions themselves had to be removed from memories in order for the mind to continue functioning. The feelings and emotions themselves have rooms of their own. I find them to be more deadly than the memories, traps, and doors combined." He took off his glasses and started cleaning them. "That's how they were programmed."

"Programmed?" I mouthed silently to myself. What the heck was that supposed to mean? I shook myself out of my thoughts and eyed this Kaiba warily.

"Can you lead us to the core?" I asked. The Kaiba before us stared unseeingly before reapplying his glasses.

"I can see how my knowledge could be of use to you," he said robotically. "I am aware there is a powerful struggle occurring, and the core self of Seto Kaiba is fully bent on removing it. Every area of this prison is in chaos, so fighting back alone is impossible, and pointless." I listened to his words, wondering if he was talking to either himself, or us. It was like he was trying to convince himself this was the right thing to do.

"It seems," Kaiba finally concluded, "that the wisest and most logical decision after examining your pasts with Seto Kaiba… that I should aid you in any way." He then eyed us with the first emotion I'd seen since meeting him.

"But if you dare do anything to harm Seto Kaiba, your extermination in this prison will be swift and without hesitation." His eyes glowed with an unearthly hue. He seemed extremely tense suddenly, and he was glaring down at me, demanding an answer.

"I promise, we won't hurt him." I replied quickly, raising my hands in surrender. This seemed to calm him and he returned to his robotic like state.

"Excellent. Let us proceed, then."

**~((~^*^~))~**

A/N: I hope you guys liked it! And please please PLEASE review. Seriously, it won't bite, I swear. (At least… I'm pretty sure it won't.)


	5. The Core

_The Core_

(Seto's POV)

I had no idea how long I was out. But as I steadily became more aware of my surroundings, my situation became clear. I squinted and looked around. The room was dark, and eerily quiet. But some sound seemed to be coming through… but it wasn't like the sounds you can _hear_. But rather the sounds you sense, when music is too loud and you can feel the vibrations in the floor. All sounds are vibrations, so it made enough sense to me.

The music I could feel was calming. It helped me relax, but it didn't relieve the growing anxiety that was eating away at me. Something was very, _very _wrong. But I couldn't figure it out.

I became aware that I was laying on my side. A small, strange noise escaped my lips as I tried to push myself up. My strength escaped me, and I collapsed onto my stomach. I took several deep breaths, trying to gather myself as I looked around. I pushed my hand forward and froze when I felt resistance. I placed my hand against the glass and frowned deeply. This wasn't right. I tried to look up and stared. What was I in? An hourglass? The roof of whatever I was held in was oddly dome shaped, but in a way that seemed to reflect off something else, another glass dome reflecting the one I lay in.

Suddenly, what looked like ice crystals seemed to fall through, and floated around me. I shivered as the temperature dropped dramatically. It was freezing.

The vibrations were getting stronger. I looked up and was startled by a bright, nearly blinding light. It was a fiery white, with just a hint of blue. It looked… humanoid. I couldn't see it clearly because of the intense light. The more I focused on the light the more the vibrations seemed to get through. Suddenly I could hear a soft melody floating around me. It was beautiful. I felt something burning behind my eyes. I wanted to shout. Scream. I wanted to stop this pain that was growing in my chest. It felt like my heart was about to burst.

That's when I saw it. A shadowy figure stood close by, sitting in a throne like chair. The figure's legs hung over the arm rest, and its back rested against the other arm rest. It threw its arm at the glowing figure, and an orb of burning red light appeared. It flung itself at the glowing figure. The song hesitated, and I reacted before I could understand what had happened.

I flung myself at the glass. The orb of red light exploded into small embers and floated harmlessly to the ground. The shadowy figure didn't move again, but I did.

I cried out and fell onto my side again. The music gently started to come back to me but I could hardly hear it. My energy was draining too quickly. I was losing all my strength in _seconds_. And whatever I had just done wasn't helping either.

The orb of red light appeared again, and I quickly realized what the shadowy figure was doing. He was using this light against me. It wanted me to retaliate, to fight back. And for what? To protect something that couldn't be real?

I looked up at it and shivered.

"_Help me, please_."

That was all I needed to hear before I hit the glass wall again. The orb burst and I clutched myself tightly, biting back a cry of pain. This wouldn't work. This wouldn't end well if something didn't change. But I couldn't focus. I couldn't bring myself to think things through, to see the bigger picture. It was the worst feeling in the world. Being trapped… and unable to comprehend anything except…

"_Fight._"

**~((~^*^~))~**

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, but I felt that you guys needed to know how Seto's mind was coping with everything that's happening. The next update will continue on with the rescue. Please review and let me know what you think! And sorry for not updating for a while. School is a nightmare.


	6. The Dream Scape

**Chapter Six**

_The Dream Scape_

(Yuugi's POV)

I never would have seen this coming in a million years. I'd seen the most impossible, most unbelievable things, but this was putting it all to shame. Never in my life did I think I'd have to enter someone's _mind _and try to save them from some unknowable danger. And what's more insane, is that it was Seto Kaiba's mind.

I watched this 'other version' of him walk ahead of us, his nose deep in some enormous text book like it was no one's business. Jou and Honda walked behind him a few feet ahead of me, neither of them talking. Anzu walked next to me, her eyes drifting between me and Kaiba. She didn't speak either.

Yami was on my other side. He kept his hands in his pockets and didn't look at anyone, not even me. Whatever was on his mind, he really didn't feel like sharing.

I didn't feel like talking either. This was all too strange. And even though we worked everything out fairly well in the Library section, I still couldn't shake the feeling that this Kaiba hadn't told us everything. It still felt like we were missing something, that not everything was quite as it seemed.

Jou finally was the one to break the silence.

"So, how long should this take?" The Kaiba walking in front of us looked up for a brief moment before returning to his book.

"In this place? A few hours. Minimum or maximum I don't know. It depends on how well you adapt and move on."

"Okay…" Honda said. "You said there were traps right? When's the first one? What'll it be like?"

Kaiba stopped walking and marked the place in his book before turning to us.

"Roughly around this area. Not everything is accurate in this place. There will always be surprises around every bend. The best I can do is estimate. You did want the most dangerous route, correct?"

"We wanted the fastest route," Yami said calmly. "Danger is necessary if we're going to save Kaiba."

"Alright," this Kaiba said and closed the book. Immediately it disappeared into nothing, leaving his hands empty to return to his sides. "The first stop is meant to be a puzzle. It's basically your trail of passage to even get in officially."

"You mean we weren't even in yet?" I asked incredulously. Kaiba looked mildly annoyed, the first emotion in a while.

"No. You meet the intelligence first, my district. And it's up to me to determine passage or ejection. I've allowed you passage, it'll be up to you after this point."

Suddenly, an enormous door appeared behind him and he stepped up to it and pulled a key from his pocket. The door itself was a silvery-blue, and the frame was pure white that had a sort of shine to it. I squinted when I saw something sparkle at me. Frost was covering the door, and was starting to lay a foundation around the door itself.

"That's the coldest door I've ever seen," Honda muttered to himself. I felt myself nodding in agreement.

"If I am correct, this will be the Dream Sector. I hope you all have strong imaginations," Kaiba said and slid the key inside the lock.

"Why?" Jou asked. Kaiba looked at him, his face void of emotion.

"It's the Dream Sector. Everything that could ever be created with Seto Kaiba's mind is in there, some good, a lot bad. If you want to make it through, your own imaginations will have to do some work to carry you through safely."

"Then… I don't think there will be too much trouble," Anzu said, but she seemed anxious even then. I certainly hoped it wouldn't be as bad as Kaiba was making it seem.

That's when the door swung open. A freezing wind blew past us and I blocked my face, my teeth chattering at the sudden temperature drop.

"Are you ready?" Kaiba asked stoically, motioning to the open, dark doorway. I stood up a little straighter and looked to my friends. They were watching me, waiting on the word.

"Let's go." I said. I took one step forward, but Kaiba raised a hand.

"I must warn you of one last thing." We waited anxiously.

"I'm from the Intelligence District. I have no imagination. I have some strength to hold off the powers in the dream scape. But I won't be able to continue with you."

"Thank you for helping us this far," Yami said truthfully. Kaiba frowned.

"Don't thank me yet." He said, pulling out a small sphere and handing it to Yami. "This is the map that will help lead you to the core. Will the map to appear and it will.

"Also, there is one more thing. I am not the only projection of Seto Kaiba. I can guarantee that you will run into several of them, and all of them will be different than the last. Inside the Dream Sector is a much more ruthless version of Seto Kaiba. I would exorcise caution, if I were you."

"Any other tips?" I asked, the others too stunned by the information to speak. Kaiba's lips tightened into a firm line.

"Dream will not be willing to accept you. Mention that Intelligence has granted you passage, and that you are heading for the core. The direct route. I can't guarantee how much help that will be, but it will clear up most questions he'll have for you."

"Thank you," Anzu said. Kaiba simply nodded and stepped inside. We followed him in.

I squinted, trying to see our surroundings. It was dark, very dark. And still cold. I shivered and rubbed my arms.

"Guys," Jou's voice echoed around the room. "I think we're in some kind of cave."

"Tunnel," Our Kaiba version corrected easily.

"Dang, is there any light in this place?"

"It's a Dream Scape, Honda," Anzu explained. "I doubt it would be very bright."

"Unless there was activity," Kaiba continued to explain further.

I felt a sudden, sharp rumble beneath my feet. It disappeared just as quickly as it had come, and I caught my breath.

"Did you guys feel that?" I asked.

"Feel wha—"

The rumble broke the silence this time, shaking the ground long and hard.

"Feel it," Honda's voice echoed.

"I see light!" Jou and Anzu said. I squinted and realized I could see the faint outline of their hands, pointing behind me. I turned around and looked. They were right; light was beginning to grow at the end of the tunnel, which ended with a sharp turn to the left. And that was where the thundering sound was coming from.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Yami's usually calm voice said had a trace of strong concern.

"Maybe we should—" Jou didn't get a chance to finish.

Suddenly, an enormous hand of a monster gripped the end of the tunnel's edge and its long head swung around to stare at us. I blinked.

"Is that Exodia?" I asked, recognizing the prized Duel Monster's card I'd used when I first defeated Kaiba at the game for the first time. It roared at us and we flinched. Well, Kaiba didn't flinch. He just stared incredulously, as though he hadn't expected it.

Once Exodia roared, a thousand other terrifying looking Duel Monsters appeared by its feet, all of them roaring and making strange, disturbing sounds. That's when they all started running for us.

"RUN!" I don't know who screamed it, but we did. We ran as fast as we could for the opposite end of the tunnel, further and further into the darkness. We weren't running fast enough, because the longer we ran, the brighter our surroundings became.

That's when Jou came to a startling stop. We crashed into him and hit the ground.

"Keep running!" Our Kaiba said.

"Cliff!" Was Jou's quick reply. I looked up to see he was right. The ground just stopped. Below us was a chasm of absolute nothing. If darkness was a beast like the ones chasing us, it would swallow us whole.

Suddenly, someone kicked me in the gut and I rolled over, coughing violently at the pain. Then a new voice, familiar still, but much more gruff and angry pierced the air.

"Damn you Intel!" I blinked, trying to get the stars out of my eyes. The first thing I saw were steel toed boots, quickly followed by black camo pants, a black form fitted t-shirt with a v-neck, a card necklace, and a large AK-47 in two long arms. My eyes travelled up further to see very angry, alert, stormy blue eyes. His brown hair was wild and wispy, like he'd been running for a long time in high wind areas. It was another Kaiba.

'Intel', also known as our Kaiba, blinked emotionlessly at the angry man before us, whom looked very ready to kill us all.

"Dream Scape," Intel said evenly.

"How many times do I have to tell you, I'm not a dreamer! You think I _like _this place! It's a nightmare!"

"Right, you are Night then."

"Who the frick cares?!" Night, the very angry version of Kaiba, growled angrily. "We're all going to _die _unless you idiots learn how to buck up and fight!"

Intel glanced at us, his thoughtful calm eyes calculating our options.

"I will hold off the creatures. Take care of them Night, they're here to help."

"So you say," Night grumbled, but lowered his weapon and stormed over to the cliff face.

"You coming morons?" Night growled at us. We nodded hard and followed him to the edge.

"Look, just imagine you have a way to travel down. Something to hold onto, glide one. Whatever the hell you want," Night said. I frowned. This version of Kaiba didn't seem to have a problem swearing.

"Just jump, imagine you have a support, and fall with it. We'll group up at the bottom," Night said. "No questions. See you at the bottom losers."

He then jumped straight off the edge. We all gasped and stared after him. Suddenly, two intertwined chains dropped from the ceiling and wrapped around his wrists. He gripped them tightly and disappeared into the darkness.

"Like heck I'm going last," was Jou's quick reply, and he jumped. For him he ended up imagining ropes. That would leave a burn. Honda jumped after him.

"What about Intel?" Anzu asked Yami. We looked back just in time to see an enormous light barrier form between Intel and the onslaught of monsters.

"There's nothing we can do," He replied. "Come on, we don't have much time." He jumped, Anzu quick to follow and grab onto him. I cast one last look after Intel. My eyes widened. Something was in his hand. It was shining against the barrier. It looked like…!

The barrier exploded and I fell off the cliff face.

The wind whistled in my ears as I fell. My heart beat thudded in my chest as I spun my body around to face the ground, which I could now see quickly approaching. My stomach churned, and I placed my arms in front of me, imagining a swing. My fingers enclosed around something hard. I swung up just in time to avoid slamming into the ground.

I let go and rolled onto the ground, panting and trying to get over the sheer terror I'd just experienced.

"Huh, swing," Night's voice echoed bitterly. "How girly."

I frowned and climbed to my feet, Jou and Honda quick to help me. I looked around, able to make out all their faces in the dim light. I looked up to see the monsters all staring down at us, growling and snapping their teeth at us. I felt my heart break for Intel. I hoped he was alright.

"Now, why don't one of you try explaining why the hell you broke in here?!"

**~((~^*^~))~**

A/N: Hey guys! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in awhile. I had some massive writer's block, but I got over it, and have a thousand ideas for this story. I hope you all liked the chapter, and please leave a review to let me know what you thought of it. PLEASE. I love your reviews, they make my heart and soul warm up knowing that you guys care about this story and where it's going. See you guys soon in Chapter 7!


	7. The Meaning of Night

A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in so long guys. I got my first summer job and school was crazy near the end. I promise to update more often. I've been finding time to write lately and I've been using it. I hope you guys like this next chapter, I did my best! Enjoy :)

(Note: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or the Hunger Games, which inspired one of the creatures in this story.)

**~((~^*^~))~**

The Meaning of Night

(Night's POV)

The group trailed behind me in the darkness and I didn't try to fight the obvious growl that lurked on my face. I wasn't just ticked. I was _enraged_. Always, always enraged. Damn Intel and damn the Core. If I could save the Core myself I would. But stupid old Intel always had to be making plans and deciding on things for everyone else. Sometime it just took gut instinct. The moron didn't have squat of that. But I did. I had all the gut instincts and zero boundaries to keep me from acting on it.

Was it really too much to ask that everyone just trusted _me _for a day? Or year? What could possibly go wrong?

I heard Anzu scream and I pointed my gun into the air and let off one shot without even looking up. A hard _thud _echoed throughout the cavern as the Duel Monster creature hit the ground and I smirked. Of course I hit my target. Gut instinct, seriously. Intel should look into it sometime.

"Uh, hey, _Night_," that annoying accent barreled into my ears and I snarled.

"WHAT, Jonouchi?" I growled, my grip tightening dangerously around my gun.

"Not that it bothers me or anything, but could you maybe... stop shooting blindly?" I couldn't stop the snarl that spread across my face even if it killed me.

"I saved your pathetic lives twice already and you're complaining? Maybe I should have just left your sorry assess back up with Intel. That sure looked like_ fun_!" I barked sarcastically. Anzu flinched and I felt my face soften. But only slightly.

"Just shut up and keep moving. Staying too long in one place is dangerous."

"You've been saying that for the past twenty minutes," Jonouchi grumbled. My finger twitched next to the trigger. God I hated his voice.

"Jou, cut it out. He knows this place better than we do. The best we can do is listen to what he says," Yuugi's innocent voice crept through the darkness and into my hearing. My shoulders slumped. If I could have been paid for this, it would never have been enough.

"How much farther is the Core?" Yami, that freaky alter ego of Yuugi's, asked calmly and seriously. He was probably the only sane person in the room. Quiet, asked the right questions, didn't scream, did as he was told. He'd have made a great soldier.

"Two, maybe three more doors if you don't do something stupid, like walk into a trap."

"A trap?" Anzu asked. I rolled my eyes.

_Intel you idiot, you can't even explain a stupid trap...! _I thought to myself bitterly.

"Yes," I sighed dramatically, "a _trap_. You can trigger them with your emotions, your silly little actions, or something stupid like touching something you shouldn't. Oh, or get eaten. Yeah, that would do it nicely."

"Eaten?!" Jonouchi yelped. I stopped and turned around to glare at him.

"I'm sorry, do you _not _remember the man eating Duel Monsters up there?" I growled low and dangerous, only smirking in victory when I saw him shiver, remembering Intel's death at the hands of Exodia.

"Oh."

"Yeah, _oh_." I mimicked darkly before turning and leading the group again.

A second barely passed before Yami restarted the conversation.

"How would emotions trigger the traps?"

"I thought you of all people would get it," I said, trying very hard not to make it sound like a compliment. "This is _mind space_, it's all a part of Seto Kaiba's head. Everything in here is made up of feelings, thoughts, and memories. Each piece is connected to the other like a machine, making all the gears turn and click into place like a clock. Now, think of it like a clock. You have a certain emotion, you react in a certain way that triggers a memory in Seto Kaiba's mind. And as you trigger that memory, suddenly every other gear starts clicking into place and begin to turn and activate a whole string of events that ultimately will either kick you out of the Mind Space or throw you headlong into other emotions and memories until you're circling around forever in a maze as you continue to react in ways that set off the traps."

I scowled and kicked a large rock, listening as it angrily crashed over and over into the hard ground ahead. "God help me I sound like Intel," I grumbled.

"So what... _reactions_ or emotions should we try to avoid?" Yuugi asked cautiously, as though he could anger me anymore than I already was. If that was possible. I sighed heavily.

"Don't do whatever you see in this Dream Scape. Fear, anger... and don't try and be a smart-ass. That won't get you very far. Then you'll just be stuck in a place that feels like zero energy. Everyone in here calls it the Hell Zone. Don't get in the Hell Zone."

"What's in the Hell Zone?" Jonouchi asked.

"Hell, I thought it was obvious." I said bitterly.

I heard a small rumble and stopped walking. Jonouchi walked right into my back and I stumbled forward slightly. Under any other circumstance I would have punched him for not watching where he was going, but I was preoccupied.

"Hey, maybe a little warning-!" I elbowed him hard in the gut and he doubled over, hacking violently in his arm.

"Shut up," I whispered harshly and aimed my gun.

"What is it?" Anzu whispered. I didn't respond. I felt the tremble of the earth beneath my boots and my muscles clenched. For once, this wasn't something I could just shoot at and be done with. This was something big.

"Follow closely." I said softly, motioning them forward.

I carefully stepped forward, arching my foot just enough to give off no sound as I moved into the dark cavern. Surprisingly enough, Jonouchi was equally quiet behind me in footsteps, although he was still breathing a bit hard from my blow to his ribs. Yuugi and Anzu could use some help, but Yami, as always, was doing perfectly. The dork was probably treating it like a game.

Nothing was a game to me. Everything was always life or death, nothing in between survived long. Nothing.

That's when everyone heard it. A low growl echoed through the cavern and I heard Jonouchi mutter, "This isn't another attack of the Duel Monsters is it...?" I slammed a hand over his mouth and stared straight ahead, my eyes widening._ Crap. Crap, crap, crap, crap, _CRAP_._ I suddenly had the sickening feeling Intel had it better than me. The very thought of it made me want to throw up.

But instead I hardened my gaze and locked myself into a solid stance.

"Stay behind me, this could get nasty."

"What is it?" Anzu whispered.

"Mutts."

A thundering sound pounded through the air and my fists clenched.

"Run!" I shouted and open fired as the mutant creatures tore around the bend and ran straight for us.

They were large animals, wild and crazed like freakish wolves or rabid dogs. They were much bigger than an average mutt however, they were six feet long and they're mouths were big enough to crush a basketball, and sharp enough to tear the flesh off a lion. They're claws were long like knives, each glinting in the low light of the tunnel with a deathly promise. They're eyes were blood red and their hair was course and blood soaked. But something about their faces, the way they snarled and snapped their jaws seemed almost... human. It was like they almost had expressions. Like they had _faces_.

Bullets slammed into the creatures' bodies, the front line hitting the ground hard and trying to crawl forward before they stopped moving completely. But the others behind them kept barreling through.

I didn't look behind me to see if the others had followed my advice. It didn't matter much to me whether they lived or died. If they 'died', they would just be evicted and returned to the real world, where they would try and get back in... Only to fail.

My eyes widened. Intel was gone. Who was going to let them back in if they were kicked out of the mind space? And what would happen to the Core?

So it was up to me then.

"Run!" I shouted more fiercely this time. The Mutts were still rapidly approaching. Three hundred feet... 250 feet... 200 feet... It was time for me to run too. My bullets were barely denting their numbers. _Damn nightmares...! _I cursed the mind space and bolted back, only happy for a brief moment when I saw that the group had retreated a little bit, but I growled when they hadn't run away either.

"What are you idiots doing?! RUN!" This time I screamed, waving my arms frantically as I shot behind me, running the whole way. I could hear the Mutts' jaws snapping and barking. They sounded like something born from the underworld.

The ground started shaking as the Mutts drew closer and closer to us. This wasn't getting us anywhere. I frowned deeply. There was only one choice.

So it was going to be one of _these _nightmares, then.

I slowed down to a halt and touched the wall beside me. The cavern immediately split into two tunnels.

"The right one! The right one!" I shouted at them, but didn't move. None of them had looked back yet. They ran to the right one and that's when Yuugi looked back. The horror was clear on his face. But I held a finger to my lips and stared at him long and hard. He got the message.

His large eyes grew watery and he turned away, running after his friends into the tunnel. Yuugi would make sure the others got far enough away. Then they'd probably make their way back. But by then it'd be over.

Once they were gone into the darkness, I ran to the division and looked back. The Mutts were 100 feet and closing. I grabbed the card necklace around my neck and pulled it off. I hung it off a protruding rock in the wall and slowly stepped over to the left tunnel.

"HEY YOU DAMN MUTTS, OVER HERE YOU STINKING SWINE!" I shouted angrily, cupping my hands around my mouth to amplify the sound. The Mutts roared and started crowding to the left. Idiot dogs. They took the bait so easily.

I backed into the left tunnel quickly, going back farther and farther into the darkness and sighed. This was just like every night. Every night the same dreams. Always memories twisted with fear and the subconscious. Of course this was his world. And every night I would fight these horrific monsters, try and survive as long as I could. Sometimes I'd make it with bloody wounds and searing pain, but alive. Other times, the deaths were long and drawn out, writhing in the lonely empty world as I slowly died in pain and agony. The usual stuff. And then every night, when the Core went to sleep again, I'd regenerate only to start all over again.

Tonight looked like one of those nights. I was going to die here, again. But this time, if Yuugi and his friends failed, there would be no waking up tomorrow in the night. Never again. Even though it was a nightmare, it was nice knowing that somewhere in this God-forsaken Core there was still some happiness living in the depths of his soul... Somewhere no one could reach, but there none-the-less. And that was worth fighting for.

The Mutts were 60 feet away now. I clutched my gun tightly at my side. It wouldn't do much good to shoot them, but anything that bought the others time and made the Mutts think I was the only one down here was worth it in the long run. And this could very well be my last run.

I aimed my gun. 25 feet away. I open fired.

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